Army Releases Private to Settle Lawsuit

ST. LOUIS (CN) – The Army released a private to settle a lawsuit from her parents, who claimed that her father did not sign an enlistment permission form. Kristeen and Thomas Poole sued in Federal Court with their daughter, Hillary Poole, less than a week before Hillary was to be sent to Germany, for October deployment to Afghanistan.

The Pooles claimed that a recruiter in New York encouraged Kristeen Poole to sign her name and her husband’s for what Kristeen thought was a form to authorize an overnight evaluation. The Army released Hillary Poole from duty after a handwriting expert confirmed that Thomas Poole’s signature was not authentic. Doug Smith, a spokesman for the Army Recruiting Command, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that the Army is investigating the allegations against the recruiter, whom court papers identify as Sgt. William Dillman.